Middle school roundup: Eagles win 4th straight, Rams get 10th win

The Jefferson Eagles continue to soar as they defeated Clinton 58-34 on Thursday. After losing a pair of games by one point, the JMS boys have won four straight but it wasn’t easy.

Robert Holder

The Jefferson Eagles continue to soar as they defeated Clinton 58-34 on Thursday. After losing a pair of games by one point, the JMS boys have won four straight but it wasn’t easy.

After leading at the half by just five, 28-23, a 18-8 run got Jefferson (7-3, 2-1 in Area 2) some breathing room. Anthony Gibson led JMS with 20 points, E.J. Bush had 12 and Deandre Gibson had 11.

“I believe it was by far our best team effort of the season,” coach Jason Nussbaum said. “It was nice seeing the team come together in a tough environment on the road playing against a very good Clinton team. We have a lot of eighth grade leadership, and they stepped up in a nice way.”

JMS girls 32, Clinton 28

The Lady Eagles got a pick-me-up from an unexpected player to get their seventh win of the season. Jada Guinn, a sixth grader, came in for Leah Scudder, Jefferson’s leading scorer, and piled in eight points and had an asssist to get the win.

With the game tied at 21 at the start of the fourth, Scudder, who finished with 11 points and nine steals, fouled out but Guinn along with Kelsey Benjamin and Amara Howard stepped up “big time” according to coach Katie Saxe. Benjamin finished with five points and Howard had four to go with her three rebounds and two steals.

Jefferson traveled to Horace Maynard late Monday but will return home to face the Jacksboro Eagles Thursday starting with a boys junior varsity game at 5 p.m.

RMS boys 59, LaFollette 36

The Rams notched their 10th win of the season in a big way, jumping out to a 26-7 lead at the end of the first quarter on the Owls. Tee Higgins and DemareaWhitt combined for 31 points, 18 and 13, respectively, as the Rams never let up.

Nine Robertsville players scored in their second Area 2 win. Taijon Jones and Markell Rowe had six while Higgins and Aaron Beavin had six rebounds a piece to lead the team. Higgins and Jones also added four assists each. Jacb Gross had two points, four rebounds, an assist and two steals.

Robertsville led 44-15 at halftime.

The junior varsity boys won 51-40 at LaFollette. Seth Caldwell led RMS with 16 points.